So Dotty would stand there with the freezer door open, unwrapping frozen foods to see what was inside. Or, stand in front of the refrigerator making a sandwich. No, she didn't grab all the component parts of the sandwich and put them on the counter and make her sandwich. She would grab one component at a time, put it back, grab the next component, use it put it back, and so on until she had her sandwich.

It didn't matter whether she just had lunch five minutes ago, she wanted a sandwich.

In the beginning I would try to explain to Dotty. You have to close the door on the refrigerator. She would get upset, go into her bedroom, get in bed and refuse to come out. Trying to explain only made matters worse.

Trying to help Dotty by suggesting we get all the component parts out and make the sandwich together didn't work. She fled into the bedroom, curled up in a ball, and refused to communicate.

Trying to explain to Dotty what was in the freezer didn't work. She fled into the bedroom, curled up in a ball, and refused to communicate.

The worst of all, trying to explain to Dotty you just finished eating. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Didn't matter. Dotty was hungry. She fled into the bedroom, curled up in a ball, and refused to communicate

These episodes went on for years. Nothing I tried worked. Of course, I did complain to anyone that would listen about these episodes. We call this venting. So this is how we are supposed to cope. Vent.

Venting is useful and effective up to a certain point. Does it really help to complain about the same thing over and over and over? Do the people you are venting too really want to hear it for the 50th or 100th time? Or do they start avoiding conversation with you? Would you listen to them complain about the same thing over and over?

In Alzheimer's World you must learn to accept behaviors that are unsettling. Confusing. Make you angry. This is how you feel in the real world.

The person living with dementia does not understand why you are all bent out of shape. And, beyond a certain point in the disease they won't even know what you are talking about in a few minutes.

I just went in and opened the refrigerator door. The first time I opened it I walked away. It didn't start beeping. I went to look at it. It closed the door itself.

So I swung the door wide open, and then proceeded to watch and listen. After a bit, I thought, it must be broken. No beep. But then finally, Beep....Beep....Beep.

I wasn't angry, confused, or unsettled. It made me cry.

How in the world could I ever miss that Beep. The cry for help. The cry for help.

In order to cope with Alzheimer's you often have to accept. Accept the way things are and that they might never change.

In order to communicate with a person living with Alzheimer's you often have to meet behaviors that seem unsettling with an equal and completely opposite behavior.

These equal and opposite behaviors usually include: patience, compassion, understanding, and love.

When a person is being mean to you, you can be mean right back to them. Good luck in Alzheimer's World.

In Alzheimer's World it is best to meet meanness with kindness, compassion, and love. An equal but completely "opposite behavior".

The only way I know to stop someone living with Alzheimer's from being mean is to meet them with a completely opposite behavior. Meet meanness with kindness, understanding, compassion and love.

Put your arm around them. Or, hold on tight.

In Alzheimer's World doing exactly the opposite of what your brain tells you to do often works best.

You get to decide and choose. Keep blaming the person living with Alzheimer's for their behavior. Or change. Change you.

Bob DeMarco is the Founder of the Alzheimer's Reading Room (ARR). Bob is a recognized writer, speaker, and influencer in the Alzheimer's and Dementia Community worldwide. The ARR Knowledge Base contains more than 4,800 articles. Bob lives in Delray Beach, FL.

The Alzheimer's Reading Room (ARR) offers a searchable Knowledge Base that contains over 4,800 articles about Alzheimer's disease. This intellectual capital is offered free of charge and is available to the entire Alzheimer's community Worldwide via the ARR website.

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